U.S. Troops Leaving Syria To Go To Western Iraq

ABOARD A U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT (AP) – Defense Secretary Mark Esper says that under current plans all U.S. troops leaving Syria will go to western Iraq and the military will continue to conduct operations against the Islamic State group to prevent its resurgence.  Speaking to reporters traveling with him to the Middle East, Esper did not rule out the idea that U.S. forces would conduct counterterrorism missions from Iraq into Syria. But he said those details will be worked out over time. He left Washington Saturday.  His comments were the first to specifically lay out where American troops will go as they leave Syria and what the counter-IS fight could look like.